Malice
by INMH
Summary: Part 4 of 4. Diana manipulates her fellow orphans, and comes out on top. As always.


Malice

Rating: PG-13/T

Genre: General/Angst

Summary: Part 4 of 4. Diana manipulates her fellow orphans, and comes out on top. As always. The Goat Sisters chapter, novelized.  
Author's Note: … I was stricken with inspiration.

Disclaimer: I don't own Rule of Rose- It belongs to Atlus.

-

"Dammit."

Diana scowled and examined the torn piece of paper in her hand. Where had that other half gone?

She honestly didn't give a damn about the supposed sentimental value of the paper in her hands, a love note- they were all Meg's sentiments, not hers.

However, she had little to no interest in Meg's advances, and the only reason she wanted the other half of the note was so she could wave it in front of Meg's face and taunt her with it.

Diana was still quite sour, you see, about a certain incident not so long ago involving a doll, a fish, and Mr. Hoffman.

She'd paid back Eleanor, she was still paying back little Jenn-i-fah, who'd she'd never had a high opinion of anyway, and now it was Meg's turn.

Diana knew her girls too well: Jennifer was too damn timid to be knowingly and willingly complicit to any and all conspiracies in the orphanage (Though this was the same reason she was unable to refuse to become unwillingly involved at Diana's command), and Eleanor was too cool and neutral to really cook something as vindictive and involved like that up.

That left the one true brainiac in the house.

This required a special kind of payback.

The type that stung.

"What are you doing?"

Diana turned to Eleanor, standing in the door of the dormitory. She moved to explain, but then stopped.

Now, it wasn't that Diana thought that Eleanor would tattle on her; however typically neutral she was, Eleanor believed in taking what you dealt out. Meg had helped kill her bird, and now she was going to get what she had coming.

No, Diana hesitated because she had been suddenly and inexplicably struck with a bout of genius.

"Well," Diana drawled, a smirk unfurling over her face, "I was thinking of taking this sappy little love note Meg left for me… And making Sally eat it."

She turned and indicated to one of the two stuffed goats in the corner of the room. Eleanor observed the toys for a moment, her eyes flickering between them and Diana.

"And how, exactly, do you plan to do that?"

Diana gave a light, easy shrug, that little smirk of hers growing wider.

"How hard do you think it would be for the second tallest girl in the orphanage to nick a knife from the kitchen when Martha's busy?"

Eleanor stared for a moment longer, before the ghost of a similar smirk passed over her solemn face. Oh yes- she was game.

It was, at that moment, that tiny Jennifer, oblivious to the situation, walked into the dormitory.

When she saw Diana and Eleanor, she cursed her rotten luck.

"Jenn-i-fah!" Diana crooned before Jennifer could bolt. The red-head swaggered over to the smaller girl, and Jennifer thought she might cry.

Diana had that tone of voice, the one that usually dragged Jennifer into situations that ended in her being punished, either by Mr. Hoffman or the Aristocrats.

The oldest Aristocrat put a hand on Jennifer's head, lightly tousling her hair in a way that just screamed trouble.

Say, Jennifer, how would you like to run a little errand for me with your mutt?" Jennifer's eyes flickered nervously between Diana and the floor.

"Do I have a choice?"

"None whatsoever." Was Diana's sweet reply.

The Duchess held up half of Meg's love note and waved it indicatively.

"I need you to find the other half of this piece of paper." Jennifer eyed it warily as Diana held it out for her to take.

"What is it?" She asked apprehensively.

"That's for me to know and you to find out, dear." Diana shoved the paper at the eight year-old. "Go."

And Jennifer did.

And when Meg found her some time later, both scraps of paper in hand, knowing that Diana had ripped it and Jennifer was reading it, she doled out one hell of a nasty punishment: The onion bag.

And Diana, so satisfied she was with her scheme, cackled.


End file.
